--- description: Lilly Ledbetter is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Lilly Ledbetter: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd0e01b8eef7b628/698a0ae8b21a9c12675033ae/social-2007_Lilly-Ledbetter.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 2007: Lilly Ledbetter Mar 5, 2020 11:42 AM CUT  Buy the cover art→ Buy the cover art→Painting by Nicole Jeffords for TIME; Lauren Victoria Burke—AP by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:42 AM CUT Like millions of women, [Lilly Ledbetter](http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1874954,00.html "undefined") worked a demanding job to support her family. And, like millions of women, she was underpaid for it. In 1979, a Goodyear tire factory in Alabama hired her as an overnight supervisor, making her one of the first female managers at the plant. But after 19 years with the company, she received an anonymous tip: while she was earning $3,727 per month, men with her same title were making thousands more. After filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1998, Ledbetter was awarded more than $3.5 million in damages. But the tire giant appealed, and the verdict was reversed. In a 2007 decision, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Ledbetter had to report discrimination within 180 days of when the [prejudiced salary](https://time.com/3774661/equal-pay-history/ "undefined") decision was made—impossible to do if you’re unaware of the discrepancy. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote a strongly worded dissent, and Congress listened, passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009\. Now, the 180-day statute of limitations resets with each new paycheck an employee claims reflects discrimination—essential in a society where women are paid an average of 82¢ for every dollar earned by men. _—Abby Vesoulis_ [**Buy the cover art→**](https://fineartamerica.com/featured/lilly-ledbetter-2007-time.html "undefined") --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793776/lilly-ledbetter-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793776/lilly-ledbetter-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"2007: Lilly Ledbetter","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:42:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:21:59.588Z","description":"Lilly Ledbetter is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5793776/lilly-ledbetter-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd0e01b8eef7b628/698a0ae8b21a9c12675033ae/social-2007_Lilly-Ledbetter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd0e01b8eef7b628/698a0ae8b21a9c12675033ae/social-2007_Lilly-Ledbetter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 2007 Lilly-Ledbetter","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793776/lilly-ledbetter-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"2007: Lilly Ledbetter"}}]}] ```